Wire clothespin



Oct. 2, '1951 w. H. BRIDWELL WIRE CLOTHESPIN Filed Dec. 5, 1945 Patented Oct. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIRE CLOTHESPIN William H. Bridwell, Tulsa, Okla.

Application December 5, 1945, Serial No. 632,912

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a fastening device adapted for use particularly in fastening articles on a support. The invention is particularly adapted for use in fastening clothes on a clothes line or for similar purposes where the article is folded over the support so that the fastening device may clamp the article in position on the support.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fastening device of this class which will be simple in structure, economical of manufacture, durable, compact, highly efficient in use, easily applied and so constructed and arranged that a tearing of the fabric will be avoided.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a fastening device which when in position will have an attractive appearance.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a fastening device having a body formed from wire coiled into a resilient coil and so arranged and constructed that the coil may be spread apart and serve to clamp the article upon the support.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a fastening device formed from a single piece of wire coiled upon itself to provide a resilient coil and having positioned on one of the coils and lying between the opposed ends a gripping member.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

It is recognized that various modifications and changes may be made in the detail of structure illustrated without departing from the invention and it is intended that such variations and modifications shall be embraced within the claim which forms a part hereof.

Forming a part of this specification are drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the invention howing it applied in use.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a slight modification of the invention,

Fig. -6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 5.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a wire coiled upon itself to provide the central coil 8 and the exterior or terminal coils 9 and I0. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 3, I have indicated a finger grip II mounted on the central coil 8 and provided with a bore l2 through which the coil 8 is extended. The end faces of the coils 9 and I0 terminate in slightly spaced relation to the side faces of the member I I as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The wire is of a resilient type so that the coil is a spring coil.

While the invention is adapted for use in fastening generally I have, in Fig. 2, illustrated the invention used for fastening a fabric 13 in foldedover relation on a clothesline i l. The device is inserted on the line so that coils are spread apart and the clothesline and the fabric 13 are engaged between a pair of adjacent coils. When mounting the device in position the operator would hold the device by the gripping member ll so that the lower ends of the coils would be closed and slip over the line It and the fabric l3 without endangering a tearing of the fabric. Experience has shown that when the garment fastener is mounted on the line the coils are slightly distorted and the end faces of the coils 9 and [0 may approach more closely to the gripping member I I. It is for these reasons that the clearance or space clearly shown in Fig. 3 is provided. Furthermore, experience has shown that change of temperature may effect expansion or contraction of the coil members and construction is such that this expansion and contraction may take place.

The member ll may be made of wood, plastic material or a suitable material. It may also be brilliantly colored so that when it is mounted on the line a pleasing appearance is presented. It is believed obvious that the device is compact and may be stored away in quantities in a small space and that it is also light and durable.

What I claim as new is:

A fastening device of the class described comprising: a body formed from a single piece of resilient wire coiled upon itself to provide a coil, the ends of said wire being extended at opposite sides of said coil to provide a portion of a coil at each side of the coil; and a gripping member having a passage formed therethrough, said coil extending through said passage and rotatable thereon, and the opposed end faces of the ends of said wire being positioned adjacent to and in spaced relation to the end face of said gripping member.

WILLIAM H. BRIDWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 506,958 Walden Oct. 17, 1893 605,207 Reeds June 7, 1898 719,656 Griswold Feb. 3, 1903 771,905 Germain Oct. 11, 1904 823,029 Bown June 12, 1906 1,337,434 Bridges Apr. 20, 1920 1,402,567 Byrne Jan. 3, 1922 1,648,488 Love Nov. 8, 1927 1,992,863 Gardner Feb. 26, 1935 2,038,029 Doebert Apr. 21, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 697,541 Germany Oct. 16. 1940 

